[AlanHo]

I have just been looking at the Hyundai Ireland website now that the new i30 is listed. I'm glad that I don't live in Ireland.

Ireland are getting two versions of the car - named Elite and Elite plus. UK get Classic, Active, Style and Style Nav

It is difficult to match the specs - but the nearest I can get is that the Irish Elite Plus is equivalent to the UK Active - but with just one or two Style goodies like repeaters in the side mirrors. There is no mention of parking sensors on the Irish cars or sat-nav availability.

Ireland don't get the 128PS diesel engine - only the 110PS one - and I see no mention of Blue Drive (ISG) which is standard on the UK diesels. The 110PS in Ireland emits 109 gm CO2 whereas in the UK it is 100 gms.

The Irish models benefit from a choice of 3 extra colours not available in the UK - Ice Blue, Cashmere Brown and Cool Red.

The Irish car costs the the equivalent of roughly 1000 euros more than the UK one for a slightly lesser spec. I reckon our mate Paddy will be popping across the border to buy his i30 from Belfast (if that is indeed possible) - but he won't get a red one.

Hyundai must have their reasons for the differences - but I fail to understand them because there is no real difference between driving conditions each side of the border.

If this is an example of Hyundai tailoring their cars to suit each Country - I expect the Australian model when it arrives there will be kitted out with Roo bars and a fridge for your tinnies.

[Dazzler]

That is very interesting Alan

I am assuming we will get active, elite and Premium versions in OZ (and hopefully won't miss out on too many of the bells and whistles in the premium model) 

[Asterix]

We get Classic, Comfort and Style.

Glassroof not in any of these, neither is the sat-nav, but I'm sure that's because of the very high Danish car taxes.

When looking at the Hyundai.dk website it seems that the 128 BHP CRDi is only available with the auto gearbox   

[Phil №❶]

Alan,

Any thoughts on why Hy do tailor their cars to different markets and why they would think that Ireland needs to have different models / colours / engines etc. I can understand subtle differences for far away countries where the climate, road conditions & distances between cities may differ. Making variations adds to the production cost, so why would this be a good move. 

[Dazzler]

I assume our cars will continue to come from Korea so that might make for subtle variations (like there are with the current model)

[Asterix]

84..

I think it is the import agent in each country that decides what should be in the different models in the range. It would probably be caused by the individual car taxes in each country.

All cars at the factory is made "on demand" so there would not be extra production cost for that reason.

[AlanHo]

Alan,

Any thoughts on why Hy do tailor their cars to different markets and why they would think that Ireland needs to have different models / colours / engines etc. I can understand subtle differences for far away countries where the climate, road conditions & distances between cities may differ. Making variations adds to the production cost, so why would this be a good move. 

I have no idea - the subject cropped when I was talking to the Hyundai i30 and i40 Product Manager when I was at Silverstone. Her reply was that during the development of a new car, the Hyundai marketing team in each Country is consulted on the features they would like to see offered and their detailed reasoning. They don't always get their wish list - but it is taken into account by Korea Head Office. Because Ireland is a Euro economy - it is perhaps more closely associated with mainland Europe than the UK which is a Sterling area. Hence the Irish cars may be more influenced by what the Belgians or Germans or Polish etc. want than is the UK.

I don't understand the argument either - just put it down to the inscrutable Koreans.

I would have thought that there would be economic advantages in standardising models in each market onto which the factory options could still be added. When I ordered my car I enquired about the addition of the "Convenience Pack" - but dropped the idea when it added a possible 3 to 4 months to the delivery date. It appears that when customers ask for options - their cars are not put into the schedule until enough other similar orders are received so that for most of the time they are producing bog standard cars in batches.

[Doggie 1]

They probably do what they can get away with to maximise profits and depending on what their competition is in a particular country.
It's the same with the warranty - they don't offer their best deal in all markets. They offer what they have to offer to be competitive and no more.
In Australia it was the warranty that was their real point of difference in the early days and it no doubt helps them to sell lots of cars.
But no red? That's a bit of a worry....

[AlanHo]

So far as I am aware, the only markets where a 5 year warranty is offered are UK, Ireland, Australia and possibly NZ. the USA does even better with 10 years.

[Phil №❶]

They probably do what they can get away with to maximise profits and depending on what their competition is in a particular country.
It's the same with the warranty - they don't offer their best deal in all markets. They offer what they have to offer to be competitive and no more.
In Australia it was the warranty that was their real point of difference in the early days and it no doubt helps them to sell lots of cars.
But no red? That's a bit of a worry....

I looked at the Czech assembly line pics posted recently, the cars are painted early in their assembly, so why no red ? It can't be a production limitation.

[AlanHo]

I looked at the Czech assembly line pics posted recently, the cars are painted early in their assembly, so why no red ? It can't be a production limitation.

I see quite a few i30's here in the UK when on my travels. By my observation the most popular colours are silver and steel grey in joint first place- followed by stone black and vivid blue in joint second. I can remember seeing only one red i30. I therefore conclude from my highly unscientific survey that red cars are not big sellers here.

They say a red car indicates an aggressive driver - perhaps we are too laid back as a nation.

[Phil №❶]

I looked at the Czech assembly line pics posted recently, the cars are painted early in their assembly, so why no red ? It can't be a production limitation.

I see quite a few i30's here in the UK when on my travels. By my observation the most popular colours are silver and steel grey in joint first place- followed by stone black and vivid blue in joint second. I can remember seeing only one red i30. I therefore conclude from my highly unscientific survey that red cars are not big sellers here.

They say a red car indicates an aggressive driver - perhaps we are too laid back as a nation.

So how come Ferrari Red, is the benchmark colour everywhere   

[Doggie 1]

I looked at the Czech assembly line pics posted recently, the cars are painted early in their assembly, so why no red ? It can't be a production limitation.

I see quite a few i30's here in the UK when on my travels. By my observation the most popular colours are silver and steel grey in joint first place- followed by stone black and vivid blue in joint second. I can remember seeing only one red i30. I therefore conclude from my highly unscientific survey that red cars are not big sellers here.

They say a red car indicates an aggressive driver - perhaps we are too laid back as a nation.

I've never been a great fan of red cars per se, but I do like the new i30 in red.
Red cars can suffer from paint fade in our climate unless you always keep them well polished and protected.
But when I saw a photo of a red i30, it just appealed for some reason.

[AlanHo]

They say a red car indicates an aggressive driver - perhaps we are too laid back as a nation.

So how come Ferrari Red, is the benchmark colour everywhere   

I think you just answered your own question

[Dazzler]

I've never been a great fan of red cars per se, but I do like the new i30 in red.
Red cars can suffer from paint fade in our climate unless you always keep them well polished and protected.
But when I saw a photo of a red i30, it just appealed for some reason.

Might be the shade of red.. I am also wary of red but like the look of that one 

[AlanHo]

I just had a word with my mate at the dealership. He said that when the i30 was first launched the original metallic red was quite popular and they sold quite a few - but silver and steel grey even then were the biggest sellers. When Hyundai dropped the metalic red and replaced it with shine red - sales of red cars have been low. Last year there were just a handful out of 250 i30s sold. The part exchange value they offer is influenced by the colour of the car - they expect a used shine red one to sit for longer in their sales area wheras silver and steel grey move much quicker.

Regarding the new model - they anticipate that the blue and white ones may be more prominent in sales. White because it has joined black as the flavour of the era - and the aqua blue because most illustrations of the new model in the media and some TV adverts show the car in that colour. However - silver and steel grey will give them more than a run for their money.

[Doggie 1]

Interesting because I don't like metallic reds, just the bright solid reds.

[Dazzler]

Interesting because I don't like metallic reds, just the bright solid reds.

I like metallic reds because they are usually clear coated and less prone to fade...

[Asterix]

So far as I am aware, the only markets where a 5 year warranty is offered are UK, Ireland, Australia and possibly NZ. the USA does even better with 10 years.

We also get the 5 year warranty here in Denmark, with unlimited kilometers, free road assistance for the 5 years, and an annual free " health check" in the warranty period.

 

[baroudeur]

Hyundai must have their reasons for the differences - but I fail to understand them because there is no real difference between driving conditions each side of the border.

It has always been so.  I worked for a major manufacturer many years ago and there were variations even in those days of very basic specifications. Many a time I went to the production line to  make a last minute alteration to  a spec to fulfil a change of  destination country.  Not possible today though.

Vauxhalls are Opels in Eire but Vauxhalls in N.I. and there are differences in specs.  It's not so long ago when an  Irish Opel spec'd up to U.K. standard could save a lot of money.

My son works at a major port of entry where many cars are fitted with extra equipment or modified to meet the U.K. market specs and PDIs are carried out en bloc.  I have had four new Hyundais three of which were PDI'd at Tilbury the port of entry for Korean built cars  and given Essex registration numbers. My Czech built car was PDI'd by the dealer.

[2i30s]

its also possible that customer to dealer feedback contributes to what features our cars have when they leave the factory and leave the dealers showroom. 

[Hati]

I think it is the import agent in each country that decides what should be in the different models in the range.

Not so in Australia. I just had a chat with my dealer yesterday, tyre kicking the Veloster and talking about the new i30. He said that Oz gets what Hyundai sees fit, the dealers have no say in it. As opposed to Kia, where the dealers decide what spec they want.


On the new i30 topic, some sad news for the i30 CW diesel tragics like myself. The new i30 has no ETA for Australia yet, anywhere between June and December at this stage. The real bad news is that CW versions are not planned at all, because apparently they will only be made in the Czech Republic so it would cost too much to get it Down Under. The diesel will be (at least at this stage) discontinued too. Not sure if that applies to the i30 hatch or not.


It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster initially, as I though "oh damn, just bought the old version 6 months before the new comes out, then straight into "you beauty, smart call to buy the last model to make it to Oz"...


The light at the end of the tunnel is the rumour about a Elantra wagon possibly taking over that spot. There you go gentlemen, new spanner in the works 

[Doggie 1]

This is interesting because two dealers I've spoken to have both said the new i30 will be here during the second quarter (between April & June) and there definitely will be a diesel. 

[Doggie 1]

I've been out this morning and whilst out I called into one of the Hyundai dealerships I've been dealing with and spoke to the salesman about this matter.
He pulled up an email that they received yesterday from Hyundai and read it out to me.
It confirmed what Hati said about the cw not coming to Australia, as due to where it is being built they can't introduce it at a competitive price point.
The email also said that the new base model i30 will be up-specced to include reverse camera, touch screen & satnav and will be powered by a 1.8 litre petrol engine.
There was no mention of diesels. 
The people I spoke to there said they don't expect to see the new i30 here for at least another six months because there is still a lot of stock of the old model left and Hyundai won't introduce the new one until the old ones are sold.
Despite no mention of the diesels in the email, they said they are confident that diesel variants will be available here. 
However, having said that, they weren't aware of the diesel i40 sedan coming to Australia either. They seemed to think it was just a rumour, but I'm sure that some of the stuff that's been posted on here about that was from Hyundai itself. They reckon it's just speculation at this point.
I'm off to have a look to see what I can find.

OK, found this. But this morning they said that what's being reported is from journalists, not Hyundai..... 

Hyundai has decided to add yet another medium-sized sedan to its rapidly-expanding line-up, the European-designed i40.

That means it will have three similarly sized sedans - the Elantra, i45 and i40 - in its line-up. It will also enable the Korean car maker to expand its range of diesel-powered passenger cars.

And, according to Hyundai Australia marketing manager Oliver Mann, that is the motivation for the move.

He said the slightly larger i45 would only be available with the option of two petrol engines - a 2.0-litre MPI or 2.4-litre GDI - while the i40 would only be available with the 1.7-litre diesel powerplant that was also used in the i40 wagon that was already sold here.

Mr Mann said the diesel accounted for about 50 per cent of i40 wagon sales so he was confident the introduction of the i40 sedan would also be well accepted by Australian buyers.

[Hati]

Uhumm, my dealer was showing me the same email I believe. The question is how much weight does it carry....

[Dazzler]

Shame about the CW but with all the other models on offer I don't think their sales numbers will suffer too much.. Maybe they will bring in a bargain basement i40 wagon to fill the gap....

[Doggie 1]

What's with the 1.8 litre petrol i30 though?
And the base model having all the good gear in it?

[Dazzler]

What's with the 1.8 litre petrol i30 though?
And the base model having all the good gear in it?

Probably the same motor as the New Elantra (which is also a 1.8) not a bad thing (110KW and 6.6 LPH) .. I am sure they will also bring in the diesel but time will tell...

[Phil №❶]

Diesels will be hard to sell when the carbon tax levy kicks in. They cost more to buy, there's already a fuel price disadvantage which will only get worse. 

[Doggie 1]

Diesels will be hard to sell when the carbon tax levy kicks in. They cost more to buy, there's already a fuel price disadvantage which will only get worse. 

When's that in? July 1st, isn't it?